Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. The Ancient Textiles
II.1 Dominance of Linen
II.2 Characteristics of Textile Manufacturing
II.2.1 Textile Production
II.2.2 Dyeing of Textiles
II.3 Governmental Control on Production
II.4 Usage by Various Social Classes
III. The Coptic Textiles
III.1 The Foreign Influence
III.2 Application of New Weaving Techniques and Material
III.3 Change of Design
III.3.1 Graeco-Roman Period
III.3.2 Christian Symbolism; Persian Influence
III.4 Various Usages
IV. The Islamic Textiles
IV.1 Political and Religious Influence
IV.2 Governmental Institution: Tiraz
IV.3 Characteristics of Islamic Egyptian Textile Industry
V. Modernization of the Textile Industry
I. Introduction
Estimated to be cultivated well before 2500 BC, flax was the major
textile produced by the the ancient Egyptians. The annual variety of flax
(Linium usitatissimum), which grows well on sandy soils, was first
cultivated, but it was replaced by the perennial variety (Linium austriacum)
around 4000 BC. Egypt produced most of the flax products of all kinds; the
goddess Isis, was worshiped as the inventor of flax. (1) Considering that Isis,
the wife of Osiris (the same rank with Greek deity Hades) and mother of
Horus which was thought to be incarnated by the pharaoh, is one of the most
worshiped deity until the Roman times, the ancient Egyptians probably
regarded linen as an indispensible, important goods in their life. Moreover,
since flax provided Egyptians with not only fibers but also the stem for
basketry and the seeds for extracting oil (2), the utility of flax would have
made itself crucial for everyday life of ancient people.
The relics serve as the furthermore evidence of the importance of
linen in the ancient Egypt. The linens in the gable-topped chest which dates
back to 1550 to 1295 BC shows that there was variety of linens with
different qualities, weaves and usages.
around 3000 BC; the Dynasty 1 in which the oldest evidence of dyeing was
made is around 3100 BC, and the Dynasty 3 in which the confident evidence
was made is around 2600 BC. Also, the Egyptian artifacts found in the
Phoenician city of Byblos date back to the Dynasty 4, which is around 2500
BC (20), which means there must have been commercial intercourse between
the ancient Egypt and Phoenicia at least before then; not only that, Indigo,
an Indian native, was found in Egyptian clothing dating back to 2500
BC (21). These evidences reinforces the presumption that the origin of
Egyptian dying is around 3000 BC.
One thing significant is that Egyptians was the least affirmative in
utilizing dyeing techniques of the four major ancient civilizations; the
ancient Egypt was the last to be aware of dyeing (probably even later than
Phoenicians), and linen was more difficult to be dyed than any other textiles
such as wool.
II.3 Governmental Control on Production
In the Ancient times, silk production was not introduced, and the
only source of silk was the Roman empire's trade with the Han dynasty in
China. Sericulture has only been available since the sixth century AD,
because China had hidden the secret of silk production until then. (31) Thus,
silk was not available for the royal and noble people before the Roman
occupation, and linen was common for all walks of people in the ancient
Egypt, as can be seen from the murals which depict the pharaoh, the royal,
the nobility, the common and even deities wearing whitewashed (or
sometimes dyed) linen.
However, the garments represented social status, although it is
questionable that certain garments were reserved for special social class. (In
case of animal fur, the priests wore it while the others tabooed it and
avoided using them for dressing (32); the crown, a cobra-like garment uraeus
and scepter are found only in the depiction of the pharaoh)
In this mural from around 1500 BC, the pharaoh wears various kinds
of garments such as gold, colored bids, delicate embroideries, jewelry etc,
on his linen skirt called shenti. The queen wears a long linen robe with an
elaborately decorated wig on her head. Also, their clothes are dyed. The fake
beard represents the pharaoh's authority.
Such clothing was not much different for the nobility. Shenti (for
men) and a long linen robe (for women) were common for everyone ; the
nobility decorated themselves with garments similar to that of the royal. In
some cases, they put false teeth and headdresses. (33)
fur, although most avoided using that. The difference of consumption only
appears from how they decorated themselves and how many kinds of
additional clothing were used.
III. The Coptic Textiles
III.1 The Foreign Influence
Coptic art in general was influenced heavily by Egyptian and GrecoRoman heritages, while there are also a degree of Persian, Byzantine and
Syrian influence. For example, even after Christianity became dominant,
Egyptian symbolism was used along with the biblical motifs. (35) Also, ever
since the Romans brought silk to Egypt through trade with the Han dynasty,
silk was adopted gradually to Egyptian textiles. The Coptic textiles is
probably the pioneering figure in which silk is used. Not only that, after the
Roman empire recognized Christianity in 313 and then promulgated it as the
state religion in 395, Christianity protruded into Egyptian society and
resulted in the Coptic church. For this reason, Christian motifs became
major elements of the Coptic culture until the arrival of Islam.
The factor that should be take into account is that, at first, the Coptic
church separated from the Eastern Church of which head was the Byzantine
emperor because the Coptic church stood for the doctrines different from
what was decided in the ecumenical council of Chalcedon in 451 (36).
Moreover, the Sassanid Persia temporarily possessed Egypt for 10 years
(618-628). For this reason, the earlier Coptic art was rather influenced by
Persian culture imported through Syria than Byzantine culture. However,
after Constantinople was settled as the capital of the entire empire,
Byzantine culture had great impact on Coptic weavers, enriching repetoire
of design and motifs. (37) As a result, the Copts imported patterns such as
roundels in which animals such as griffins were inscribed. (38)
The following roundel below shows representative qualities of the
Coptic textile.
In this period, designs were Hellenistic and pagan; there were a lot of
reproduction of classical motifs such as Greek deities, Nilotic scenes, vines,
humans, animals etc. (51) Not only that, geometric designs were popular.
Also, the most skilled artisans made out third-dimensional, realistic
depictions through molding.(52) In contrast, especially after the Roman
empire conquered Egypt, artistic tendency of textiles artisans were
"submerged" by the influx of iconographic formulas of the empire, finally
abandoning most of the artistic heritage of Pharaonic age. However,
Egyptian mythological figures survived it, as can be seen from Isis'
becoming the representative of the Nile, which was the most popular object
of Roman Egypt (53). This was possible because the Roman empire was
polytheistic and tolerant with most religions existing in its domain. (i.e.
Faith in Isis was pervasive throughout the empire).
The most significant usage of the Coptic textiles is that it was used
for wrapping corpses substituting conventional method of embalming and
preserving mummies. Mummification was abandoned and the corpses were
put everyday clothes in the late third century. Instead, these bodies were tied
to a board and wrapped in mantles, hangings and curtains, which are the
Coptic textiles. (66) Considering that many Coptic textiles included
depictions of certain biblical episodes with funerary and symbolic meaning
and often carried the pharaonic symbol of ankh, (67) the usage of Coptic
textiles in burial reflects the change of Egyptian concept of afterlife
especially after Christianity. This shows that the Coptic textiles marks the
important change of the burial culture in Egypt.
Not only at burial, the Coptic textiles were used for various
purposes, at public places and for everyday needs. In churches, they were
used for hangings and curtains, mostly including icons of saints and biblical
themes. In homes, they were used for fashion garment, tunic, curtain, bad
sheets, covers, towels, napkins, table clothes, sacks etc. (68)
IV. The Islamic Textiles
IV.1 Political and Religious Background
For this reason, the Muslim traditions and culture profoundly rooted in here,
which indeed have made great impact on the textile industry. (Technically,
Egypt has Islam as its state religion and at least eighty percent of its
population is Muslim.) Also, some Muslim dynasties imposed various
measures on textile industry as can be seen from Tiraz or prohibition of silk
for most populace.
As a result of Islamic occupation, the Quran and the Sharia (God's
law) regulated everyday life of the Muslim world, including clothing and
artistic activities. In case of dress code, the Quran says "Tell the believing
men to... protect their private parts. That is purer for them." (24:30)
Especially in case of women, it demands "not to show off their adornments
[except for the close male family], to draw their veils all over
Juyubihinna(their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms)."(24:31) (69) Not only
were women restricted in their fashion; men were also forbidden wearing
gold and silk on their body. (70) However, it did not mean that the demand
for silk was diminished, as can be seen from that "many other cities began
to weave in response to the tremendous demand" (71) This was due to that
silk was consumed not only for dressing but also for cushions, curtains,
tapestry, prayer rugs, and myriad of other purposes.
Also, since depicting human figure especially in religious places was
regarded sacrilage because of possibility of being idol; thus, unlike the
Coptic textiles, Islamic textiles rarely exhibit human figure. Instead, the
pattern called Arabesque, or depiction of natural figures and geometrical.
abstract design, is often applied. For example: curved, veined leaves,
rosettes, tendrils and blossoms. (72)
IV.2 Governmental Institution : Tiraz
In the Arab world, the parts of which shared a market with easy
accessibility to each other, could respectively specialize themselves; each
region became a center of industry of a certain type of textile, according to
their major raw material. Such diversification was extensive; for example,
raw silk from Khurasan and the Ahwaz. (80) In case of Egypt, its delta
produced the largest amount of flax in the Arab world. Also, along with
Syria, Egypt specialized in producing wool (the silk-like wool of Egypt was
highly appreciated). As a result, Egypt satisfied most of the demand of flax
gauze, and continued to produce its distinctive wool textiles of which the
tradition dates back to the Coptic tapestry.
Until about 1820, Egyptian textile industry was characterized by
small workshops, guild organization of craftsmen, and a extensive
diversification of labor. Workers in each production process of the textile
industry were respectively organized into separate guilds. (81) Also, in this
period, Cairo was the most important textile production and distribution
center specializing in the weaving of silk, cotton, and linen. Dyeing was a
semi-industrial specialty of Cairo. Workshops with an average of twenty
workers were concentrated in three main areas of the city. After coffee and
spices, textiles were the most important product sold in Cairo's markets. (82)
V. Modernization of Textile Industry
V.1 European Influence; Development of Cotton Production
Figure 10. Comparison of Output and Export of (Raw) Cotton, 18651953 (89)
Figure 12. Comparison of Output and Export of (Raw) Cotton, 19411999 (94)
The first graph shows that the disparity between output and export has been
getting wider right after 1950. Moreover, while raw cotton production shows slow
increase until mid-1970s, export of raw cotton shows decrease between 1940 and
1997. This might indicate that domestic demand for raw cotton has drastically
increased and the international demand diminished after 1950. Eminently, raw cotton
production was no longer a major industry after 1950; the majority of cotton
production became to be consumed by domestic industry.
Meanwhile, the second graph shows that the output of woven cotton shows
steep increase after 1950, and the production thereof continues to increase until 1980.
Especially, the period when output and export of raw cotton shows the widest
disparity coincides with the period when the production of woven cotton fabric
reaches its maximum in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. This information implies
that the surplus raw cotton which came from disparity of output and export had been
consumed for domestic weaving industry; this might be the result of spurred
modernization and mechanization of Egyptian textile industry after independence and
nationalization of economy by Nasser regime.
Nevertheless, both raw cotton production and cotton fabric production shows
drastic fall after mid-1980s. The possible assumption is that the beginning of neoliberalist policy has removed protectionist policy and the competition among newly
emerging industrialized countries such as China has become fiercer after 1980s. (In
1999, 20 percent of total export of China was from textiles; other developing
countries participate in World textile market, because it is easy to access.) Another
possible conjecture is that the land which was originally used for cotton production is
used for other purposes, as Egypt has modernized and industrialized itself in the late
twentieth century.
VI. Conclusion
material (wool and silk) imported from the Greco-Roman world. In the Islamic times,
Egypt was the major supplier of flax and produced other types of textile demanded by
the consumers in the Arab world and some parts of Europe. Still in the modern times,
Egypt converted itself into a centerpiece of cotton production, as well as one of the
major producers of high-quality silk and wool in the world. Reaching its maximum
productivity between 1950 and 1980, Egyptian textile industry seems economically
less significant than it had been before.
In the aspect of politics, Egyptian textile industry was regarded probably the
most important industry of all Egypt, and the governmental interference has persisted
throughout history. In the ancient times, Ptolemaic pharaohs requested textile artisans
to weave of the state, and also did Romans. In the Islamic times, it is not palpable
whether the Muslim rulers had direct control over entire textile industry, but it is true
that Egyptian tiraz system, which satisfied the demands of the royal and the nobility,
showed the most palpable example in the Arab world. In the mordern times, textile
industry was more susceptible to governmental control; Both Ali and Nasser coveted
strong, centralized power and the state temporarily nationalized (or monopolize)
textile industry, although at last it failed. It was not more than recent three decades
since textile industry was least controlled by the government.
In the social aspect, the stratification of textile consumption was mainly
defined by economic wealth; while linen has been universally consumed by all walks
of people, silk or certain types of wool products were available for the rich and the
nobility. In a few cases, political status defined eligibility to certain types of textile
works; for instance, tiraz in the Islamic period. On the other hand, religions (major
ones being Christianity and Islam) have had a degree of impact on production and
consumption of textiles.
In summary, the textile industry of Egypt has developed in various aspects,
throughout its restless history of five thousand years.
IX. Notes
(1)
(2)
Works of Art : Gable-topped chest and linens, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18,
1550-1295 b.c. Egyptian; From the tomb of Hatnofer and Ramose, western Thebes
from Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
(3)
(4)
ibid.
(5)
(6)
(12)
ibid.
(13)
(14)
(15)
ibid.
(16)
(24)
ibid.
(25)
ibid.
(26)
(27)
ibid.
(28)
ibid.
(42)
Dunn
(43)
(44)
Dunn
(45)
(46)
(47)
(48)
(49)
(50)
(51)
ibid.
(52)
(53)
Dunn
(54)
Turkotek Salon
(55)
(56)
Dunn
(57)
(58)
Dunn
while most Christian branches allow embalming, Eastern Orthodox church imposes
an absolute ban against it. (Article "Embalming", Wikipedia)
(60)
Dunn
(61)
Works of Art : Tapestry Square with the Head of Spring, 4th?5th century;
Early Byzantine Egyptian, from Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
(63)
Works of Art : Roundel, fragment, 7th century Byzantine ; Egypt (?),
from Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
(64)
Wilson 1979 p.114
(62)
(65)
ibid.
(66)
(67)
Dunn
(68)
ibid
(69)
(70)
Islam Question and Answer, The scholars are agreed that it is permissible for
women to wear and use pure silk, and that it is haraam for men to do so, because of
the hadeeth of Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) took a piece of silk in his
right hand and a piece of gold in his left, held them aloft and said: These are haraam
for the males of my ummah and permitted for the females. (Reported by Ibn
Maajah, 2/1189).
(71)
Lewis 1971 p.158
(72)
ibid.
(73)
(74)
(75)
Tiraz, other Textiles, from The Kelsey Online Virtual Gallery of Historic
(78)
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/596797/tiraz
Tiraz Textiles, from IIS
Fossier and Sondheimer, p.263
(79)
ibid.
(80)
ibid p.254
(81)
(82)
ibid p.2
(83)
ibid p.7
(76)
(77)
History, from Egyptian Cotton Large projects such as the Delta barrage and
dams were constructed in Upper Egypt (1835-1909) to provide a much improved
irrigation system. This lead to a large increase of land used for agriculture by the
(84)
beginning of the 20th century. In the 20th century cotton production has doubled in
Egypt without lowering the standards.
(85)
Doosan Online Encyclopedia, Article : Muhammad Ali
(86)
IHS p.334
(87)
History, from Egyptian Cotton
(88)
Based on IHS pp.246-247
(89)
Based on IHS pp.246-247, 335-336
(90)
History, from Egyptian Cotton
(91)
Based on IHS pp.335-336
(92)
Beinin 2004 p.6
(93)
ibid pp.15-16
(94)
Based on IHS pp.246-247, 335-336
(95)
Based on IHS p.454
X. Bibliography
Note: websites quoted below were visited in October, November and December
2009.
Bibliographic Sources
1.
WHKMLA, History of Egypt
http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/northafrica/xegypt.html
Primary Sources
2.
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/
3.
Salon du Tapis d'Orient (Turkotek Salon)
http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00118/salon2.html
4.
Bolton Museum and Archive Service, Egyptology Collection
http://www.boltonmuseums.org.uk/collections/egyptology/
5.
B. R. Mitchell, International Historical Statistics: Africa, Asia & Oceania, 17502000, fourth edition, 2003
Secondary Sources
6.
J. Kamil, Coptic Egypt: History and Guide, 1987
7.
K. Wilson, A History of Textiles, 1979
8.
S. Robinson, A History of Dyed Textiles, 1969
20.
Ancient
Egypt"http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_webs
ite_action_key=action.display.module&story_id=&language_id=1&module_id=224
21.
Textiles"http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_we
bsite_action_key=action.display.module&story_id=&language_id=1&module_id=20
7
22.
Egypt" http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_webs
ite_action_key=action.display.story&language_id=1&story_id=31
23.
Economy" http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_w
ebsite_action_key=action.display.module&story_id=&language_id=1&module_id=19
7
24.
Textiles" http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_we
bsite_action_key=action.display.module&story_id=&language_id=1&module_id=20
9
25.
1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica : Article "Dyeing",
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Dyeing
26.
1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica : Article "Mummy",
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Mummy
27.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online,
Article "Dye" http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/174980/dye
28.
Doosan Online Encyclopedia History of Textiles (in Korean),
http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=730032
29.
Doosan Online Encyclopedia Muhammad Ali (in Korean),
http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=825792
30.
"The Holy Quran", an English translation of the Quran
http://www.quran.com/24
31.
Egyptian Cotton : History, http://www.egyptian-cotton.com/history.htm
32.
Islam Question & Answer, "Wearing Silk or Part Silk",
http://islamqa.com/en/ref/2037
33.
The Institute of Ismaili Studies, "Tiraz
Textile" http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=105548
34.
Tiraz and Other Inscribed Textiles, from The Kelsey Online Virtual Gallery of
Historic Textiles from
Egypthttp://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/Exhibits/Big_Textile/Tiraz_Other_Textiles.ht
ml